Trade Unions
Types of trade unions,role of trade unions,functions of trade unions
Trade unions are beneficial to workers; they are involved in the welfare
of its members and work tirelessly for their good. These unions have a
following like no other. The number of registered members for each is
simply staggering. Equally, they are a formidable force to reckon with.
More often than not, they start off with a few ideologies that are common
to all its members, who always are workers. A few members are then selected
to be representatives of the entire workforce. Consequently, the selected
team forms the organization’s top body with the rest joining in as members.
The workers who come together in a trade
union usually have some common ideologies that are used as
the basis of forming the constitution that will govern the union. These
principles are related to matters of the trade with the sole need of representing
the grievances of its members to the employer or any other party. Trade
unions work by championing the rights of their workers at forums as well
as representing them on other platforms such as talks or negotiations
with the government. In addition to this, the bodies work at all times
to protect the interest of its members.
They have proved to be quite useful on personal levels for their members
as well. Some unions have served to represent individuals in cases such
as legal matters between an employee and a worker. However, this kind
of representation is not common as the bodies tend to work for the entire
fraternity rather than on individual cases.
Trade unions have thousands of members and as such, they have a wide
national representation that always makes them a big society. There are
tendencies of the unions to have dealings with the political world. This
often happens at times when there is a trade dispute or when the government
is in need of a consensus from the workers over a national issue. A lot
of lobbying goes on before a deal is reached. The political side, more
often than not, requests for support from members of trade
unions forcing the government to give into some of their
demands.
But it is not always a smooth sailing for trade unions, nor do they always
work as is required by their members. There are occasions where they have
failed to represent their members properly as a result of under dealings
and compromise. Generally, it can be said that trade unions are very useful
labour organizations
that not only work to represent workers, but also help in
unifying their voices.
